‘Declare Abiola As Former President, Place His Image Where It Belongs’ – Kalu Tells Tinubu

Former Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has urged President Bola Tinubu to recognise the late Chief MKO Abiola as one of Nigeria’s former presidents.

Naija News reports that Kalu made this known while speaking to Senate correspondents on Tuesday before the commencement of the plenary.

Responding to revelations made by former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.) admitting in his recently released memoir, that Abiola won the June 12, 1993, presidential election, Kalu, the Senator representing Abia North, said Tinubu should place Abiola’s portrait alongside those of other former leaders in the Presidential Villa.

He lauded former President Muhammadu Buhari’s actions for conferring a posthumous national honour on Abiola but stressed that further recognition was necessary.

Speaking further, Senator Kalu described IBB’s memoirs as incomplete, urging the former military leader to publish a second volume addressing unanswered questions surrounding the annulment of the June 12 election.

In his words, “Yes, Abiola won the election. And I will say President Tinubu should declare him a president posthumously.

“Since Abiola won, his picture should be placed among Nigeria’s past presidents. I commend former President Buhari for giving him a national honor, but I also appeal to President Tinubu to officially recognize him and place his image where it belongs. This would help bring succor to his family.

“I look forward to the second edition of Babangida’s book because the first did not reveal all the realities. I was present during the events of June 12, and I know what happened. Babangida should call out the names of those responsible for preventing the election declaration”.

Kalu also dismissed claims that the 1966 coup was an ethnic conspiracy, adding that “the coup in question was not an Igbo coup; it was a Nigerian coup, executed by the military.”